Where Can You Find Platinum Outdoors in North America?
If you go looking for gold or silver deposits outdoors, chances are good you will find small quantities of those precious metals. All you need is a metal detector, a gold panning kit or machinery, or other basic equipment. You might not find a tremendous amount of those metals during a typical day of prospecting. But you will find something – often enough to make your day of hunting worthwhile.
Platinum is a different story because it is rarely found in its pure form in nature. In nature, its most common form is in a naturally occurring alloy/ore called platiniridium, which is a natural alloy of platinum and iridium. This substance is most commonly obtained as a byproduct of copper or nickel processing. At a copper or nickel mine, platinum is recovered in small quantities when complex ore is smelted or otherwise processed. Platinum is present in thin sulfide layers and mined in Canada, Russia, South Africa, the USA, Zimbabwe, and Australia. Some platinum is obtained as a by-product of copper and nickel processing. For a ton of copper that is recovered, a few ounces of pure platinum might be recovered too. This explains why platinum is such a rare metal today – one that trades at very high prices.
However, that does not mean that platinum cannot sometimes be recovered by prospectors who go searching in the great outdoors. So if you want to go hunting, you might be able to find some if you keep the following facts in mind.
Where Platinum Can Be Found Outdoors
Here are a few places where you might be able to find platinum in the great outdoors.
In platinum deposits near productive platinum mines - Some of the largest platinum deposits in North America are in the western part of the continent, including the Stillwater Complex in Montana and the Kluane Ultramafic Belt in the Yukon Territory.
In riverbeds: - Platinum can also be found in riverbeds, particularly in areas where there are gold deposits. Look for areas where the water has eroded the rocks and exposed the gravel and use a gold pan to sift through the material.
On beaches – This is the least productive source of the three we mention in today’s post. But platinum can be found in beach sands, particularly in areas where there are heavy minerals. Look for black sand deposits, which may contain platinum and other valuable minerals.
Send a Sample to Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners
If you suspect that the material you have collected contains platinum – perhaps you can visually identify small silver-colored flecks of metal in it – your next step is simple. Call Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners at 800-426-2344 and ask how we can test your material for you.
Doing so is easy. In most cases, you can send only a small amount of your scrap, sand or other material and we can test it for you and let you know whether you have found any platinum. If you have, you can return to the place where you collected your sample and get more.
Remember, however, that finding platinum in significant quantities can be difficult and often requires specialized equipment like mechanized panning equipment for use in streams. Additionally, it's important to obtain any necessary permits or permissions before prospecting for minerals in any given location. In general, for example, a mining company can claim to own platinum that you recover near their mines.
But if you ask questions first and dedicate time to your searching, you could be rewarded with the ability to reclaim quantities of this very valuable metal.
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